Arrangement for the salting and hooking of fish



y 3, 1949- s. A. BARSTAD 2,469,026

ARRANGEMENT FOR THE SALTING AND HOOKING OF FISH (HERRING) Filed Nov. 7, 1946 v 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

' INVENTOR 5 v err A Barzffad ATTORNEY May 3, 1949.

s. A. BARSTAD 2, ARRANGEMENT FOR THE SALTING AND HOOKING OF FISH (HERRING) 4 Filed Nov. 7, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JNVEN TOR 5 y e We A, BdFS/Zld A fro/5W5 Y Patented May 3, 1949 ARRANGEMENT FOR SALTING 'AND HOOKING OF FISH -(HERRING) f In 8 Claims.

,The presentdnvention relates toa method of and arrangement for automatic salting and hooking of fish, particularlysprats and herring, .-and'.the1 ,object" isrhereby to be ableto carry out .the complete curing of thefish, whether as salt- .ing,:smoking= or canning,;in a single factory unit, .insuch a'manner that all manual work connected with the-,process'is; dispensed with, or is atleast v.limited to -awminimum. .The. method. consists ,mainlytherein .thatfish of a certain size group .are dropped intov a salting vessel (brine vat), zthroughwhich alsaltsolution is flowing rapidly -towardsthe. outlet, in sucha way that the fish are carriedfromthe vessel (vat) to an overflow, Hthe fish thereby being caused to emerge heads "first withthe current .on account of tubing with inclined apertures mounted in the vessel (vat), and at the-overflow being carried into forms *located at' thisplace from which they are ex- -tracted by hooks onthe conveyors that are carry- -'ing'thefish through the smoking plant. The batch of fish is suitably conducted through a --s0I-ting dri1m for thesm'allest-fish size, for the -removal of this. "The rest. then being conducted throughthe nextusorting drum for the removal" "of fish size-No. 2; etc., etc., while the fish that are larger than the highest numbercome out through 'thelast drum and are removed.

'---When putting-this process into operation, -under-each=sorting drum except the first one is suitably located: a dropchute which brings the fish to the section of the salting vatwhere .it "belongs.

"This mayhave sections of different lengths all depending uponthe size of the fish, the larger the fish the longer the section or compartment,

- :the brine being kept in circulation .from'that end -of each compartment ivhere the fish drop from ritsgicorresponding sorting: drum towards the Opposite end where the overflow with the forms are located, the latter having their entranceopenings rforrthe fish *afithtop.

s'For eachwcompartment of the 'saltingvat are sibel'owrwater: level arranged parallel tubes, spaced nzaccordingjtoethe .fish zsize: belonging to the com-- partment and: these-:tubesxare furnished" with .-'forwards=xslanting holes to which circulating 1 brine .is. supplied, so ithat thisfiows with a whirl- -ingimotion towards zthe overflow, which has been proved. sufiioient to cause the fish tofiow between" '.=the-tubes,."heads foremost. The fish dropping "ifromxthe rsort'aing drumg'iwill=;either :cling to the tubes :forxa; ehortitime or rfall; into: the. :brine. Its .=.:sl1fi'1oient :to arrange lone; layer of tubes; and. :the

Norway 'Novem'berZL 1945 water which causes greater buoyancy than fresh .water, will: pass betweenthe tubesin rapidlmo- ,tion: on account of the jets: which. areshot from .the' slanting holes". of the tubes.

Tha brine. in these is; formed out-by a pump thus becoming awhirling: fiow and .nearly. alwayslthe 'fish will then turn. over so that heads will .beinufront before the: overflow is -reached. Eachaof. -the.'.be fore 1 mentioned 4 forms is furnishedwithanoutwardly and -.-lateral1y,-defiectable flap on --theiside remote from the overflow, andlhasv-inits inner part an.- open -s1ot. permitting passage 'of the icon- .veyer 1'100kS,,lSa;id;h00kS, catching :the. fish in .the

=formsuandi pulling them through :and out.,of the forms, the flap-swinging first..outwards-and-.-.tlren closing.

-. Theaoonveyors are carried, suitably with zig- .-.'zag .course, upward through a .smoking; tower,

then; downward :through another smoking tower, ;from this. through a cooling apparatus, and

finallythrough a cutting .or shearing: --machine =may be-arranged=in which the fish are-washed, and ,from :this an elevator carries the fish :to the afore mentioned sorting drum.

- Andi-BS1311" showing essential parts of the afore mmentioned-jplant'for the smoking of the is shown diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings. 1 Fig. 1 is: a vertical view,'pa'rt1y: sec- ::tional,.of;thatupart of the plant :wherethefish are -washed,sorted 1out, carriedcintothe forms :and vsmoked. Fig.2 shows Air-plan thesortingmr- :rangement-jand :the 'brine vats. Fig. 3 shows in a;larger:scaleand in section aform. -Fig. 4shows rim-larger; rscalei ,part of -a longitudinal section I :thronghgthe tubes inth'ehrine vats.

As shown in Fig; 1 the'ffish. are dumped into; a hopper i I whichileads to awashing 'drunr-z-z where the fish are washed during their passageithhough iqthadrumyibeingithen picked up :by:a conveyor 3 wtherwashing water'irnnning down; 1 into. a-rlowjer container 4. gfTherconveyor 3i feeds the fish upward. 1302921; row of sorting drums. The fishrma'ss mas; a =whole;- is first carried -to a apre-sortingz'drum 2.5a 1 where undersized fishrdrops out and through ax'drop chuteds removed from the plant.

The i'fish'; passing through the; 'drumr'liiaisare :throughma #tubeor-simi1ar device To; 1 transferred inexti sorting drum 55c,- @fromc-whi'ch :thaseoohdisize 'tion speed of the brine.

group drops through a drop chute 6c. The fish coming from drum c are carried through the tube to the next sorting drum 5d. The sorting out in the last sorting drum 5d with drop chute 6d is carried out correspondingly. What is not passing through the sorting drum 5dor the fish of largest sizesis removed from this drum and is carried away for other purposes, eventually into a suitably arranged pre-salting vat for larger fish, for instance larger herrings. Simultaneously with the sorting out in drums 5b, 5c, 5d they are exposed to spraying with strong salt solutions through perforated tubing 8a, 8b, and 80, which have connection with the circulating brine through the joint tube 9 for all the three last named drums. The brine is brought into circulation in a suitable manner, for instance with a pump I8, and flows together with the fish through the drums and through the drop chutes Eb, 6c, lid to the corresponding brine vats lib, H0, and Ild. These are best seen in Fig. 2, and have a somewhat different length because the largest fish in vat I Id requires the longest treatment. This is the reason for giving the brine vats different lengths as mentioned. In Fig. 2 the difference in length is comparatively small, but in practice it will usually be a trifle larger, depending upon ones experience and the time one finds necessary for the fish to stay in the strong brine in order to become suitably salted.

Naturally this also depends upon the circula- Each brine vat is at the left side in Fig. 2 furnished with an overflow as indicated by I2 in Fig. 1 for brine Vat Ilb. Corresponding overflows are arranged for all brine vats. In these vats parallel circulation tubes I3 are placed which are indicated in Fig. 2 for brine vat (1 only, and which are furthermore shown in larger scale on Fig. 4. These tubes are arranged in a single layer in the flat brine vats, half way sunk below the surface of the brine, and are as shown at I 4 in Fig. 4 furnished with slanting holes which are placed in such a way that they just correspond with the surface of the brine. The holes which correspond with the brine surface have a slanting forward direction, and when therefore the brine from the right is being pumped through the tubes I3 towards the left, a great number of forwards slanting energetic brine jets will be directed along the surface of the brine. The jets will push the fish along and cause the brine surface in the vats to adopt a whirling forward motion, although with a decided direction towards the left. As previously mentioned, experience shows that fish under such circumstances during their motion from drop chute and forward to the overflow l2 sooner or later will turn over so that the heads are pointing at the overflow. From this the brine returns through tubes or conduits I5 and IE to the pump I I].

At the outside of all overflows are mounted forms I! which point downwards with openings in the opposite direction, and which are calculated to receive the fish reaching the overflow which otherwise would drop into the conduit I5.

The forms have the same size as the group of fish or sorting group they belong to. The fish therefore will hit the forms I! and fall into these, as indicated in Fig. 3. These forms are divided in two parts, one rigidly mounted rear part Ila. and a forward part IIb outwardly defiectable at I I0. Through the lower section of both formparts IIa and III; is arranged a slot I8, resp. I 9, which has the same direction as the brine flow,

the forms being designed in such a way that the fish without fail will drop into these with the dorsal and pectoral fins at right angles to the direction of the brine flow. The eyes therefore will come nearest the form-parts Na and Ho as shown in Fig. 3. The deflectable part of the form I'Ib is by the help of a spring I'ld held in a closed position, but can be deflected outwards, the fish being pulled out of the forms with a hook 20. This hook is attached to a conveyor 2|, which in the drawing is shown only diagrammatically, and which steadily moves forward in the direction of the arrow 22. The conveyor 2! has a great number of such hooks 2B, suitably spaced, so that the hook during its motion in the direction of the arrow 22 will pass through the slots I 8 and I9 of the form, and then hit the fish eyes, thus securing a firm grip on the fish. In Fig. 3 the hook is shown with a somewhat shorter length than what is needed for actual operation. During the motion of the hook 28 it will thus catch hold of the fish, pulling them to the left in Fig. 3.

The flap lib then swinging out to the position shown by the dotted lines, so that the fish are pulled completely out of the forms, and then conveyed into the smoking plant R, which is indicated in Fig. 1, and where the chain 2I runs zigzag over rollers 23,-firstly upwards in a smoking space 24 and then downwards into another space Kboth these smoking spaces having smoke circulated through them in the usual way. Also horizontal smoke furnaces may be utilized. Then the chain runs through a cooling device which is diagrammatically indicated at K, continues to a cutting apparatus to the left of K (not shown) where the body proper of the fish is sheared off, so that the head is left hanging on the hooks 26. From there the chain runs on to different devices which remove the heads from the hooks, the chain is then cleaned and again reaches form IT.

The hooks 20 must during operation, especially through the smoking plant, hang straight down from the chain. In Fig. 3 they are in spite of this shown turned upwards. Before reaching the form II, the hooks on the chain pass through a small apparatus which is not shown in the drawing, and which is furnished with slanting surfaces and automatically swings the hooks upwards to the position required when said hooks are being passed into and through the form.

Of the chains before mentioned there are arranged as many side by side as there are forms I! in the entire plant, and all chains move along parallel paths.

The conveyor for each chain group can be controlled in such a manner, that larger fish are held for a longer period in the smoking space than smaller fish.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus for salting and hooking herrings to be smoked, the combination with a brine vessel of means for circulating the brine rapidly in a direction to an overflow for the brine, parallel tubes arranged immersed in the vessel, apertures in the tubes directed obliquely towards the overflow, means for circulating the brine through said tubes and through their apertures out into the vessel, whereby herrings dropped in uncontrolled positions into the vessel remote from the overflow are automatically caused to move towards same, head foremost, forms arranged outside the overflow to receive the herrings passing over same, moving hooks adapted to catch the herrings moved into the forms, conveyors carrying the hooks and moving them to pull the herrings out from the forms, and a smoking section, through which the conveyors with hooks and herrings hanging on same are moved for becoming smoked.

2. In an apparatus as set forth in claim 1, a sorting drum to be supplied with herrings and adapted to sort out herrings having a certain minimal size and to drop same into the brine vessel and remote from the overflow.

3. In combination with a plurality of apparatus as set forth in claim 1, a sorting drum for each apparatus and adapted, when supplied with herrings, to sort out herrings having a certain minimal size and to drop same into the corresponding vessel end remote from the overflow, the several sorting drums being connected in series and adapted to sort out different, gradually increasing sizes of herrings from a stream of herrings passed to the first drum sorting out the least size (No. 1), then passed to the next drum sorting out the next size (N0. 2), and so on to the last drum sorting out the biggest size, Whereas herrings bigger than this size are Passing out and are removed.

4. In combination with a plurality of apparatus as set forth in claim 1, a sorting drum for each apparatus and adapted, when supplied with herrings, to sort out herrings having a certain minimal size and to drop same into the corresponding vessel end remote from the overflow, the several sorting drums being connected in series and adapted to sort out different, gradually increasing sizes of herrings from a stream of herrings passed to the first drum sorting out the least size (No. 1), then passed to the next drum sorting out the next size (No. 2) and so on to the last drum sorting out the biggest size, whereas herrings bigger than this size are passing out and are removed, the brine vessels being of difierent lengths, being the longer the bigger the size is of herrings dropped into them from the corresponding drum.

5. In combination with a plurality of apparatus as set forth in claim 1, a sorting drum for each apparatus and adapted, when supplied with herrings, to sort out herrings having a certain minimal size and to drop same into the corresponding vessel end remote from the overflow, the several sorting drums being connected in series and adapted to sort out different, gradually increasing sizes of herrings from a stream of herrings passed to the first drum sorting out the least size (No. 1), then passed to the next drum sorting out the next size (No. 2) and so on to the last drum sorting out the biggest size, whereas herrings bigger than this size are passing out and are removed, each of the brine vessels having forms of a size suitable for the herring size received.

6. In combination with a plurality of apparatus as set forth in claim 1, a sorting drum for each apparatus and adapted, when supplied with herrings, to sort out herrings having a certain minimal size and to drop same into the corresponding vessel end remote from the overflow, the several sorting drums being connected in series and adapted to sort out different, gradually increasing sizes of herrings from a stream of herrings passed to the first drum sorting out the least size (No. 1), then passed to the next drum sorting out the next size (No. 2) and so on to the last drum, sorting out the biggest size, whereas herrings bigger than this size are passing out and are removed, the brine vessels being of different lengths, being the longer the bigger the size is of herrings dropped into them from the corresponding drum, and each of the brine vessels having forms of a size suitable for the herring size received.

7. In an apparatus for salting and hooking herrings to be smoked, the combination with a brine vessel of means for circulating the brine rapidly in direction to an overflow for the brine parallel tubes arranged immersed in the vessel, apertures in the tubes directed obliquely towards the overflow, means for circulating the brine through said tubes and through their apertures out into the vessel, whereby herrings dropped in uncontrolled positions into the vessel remote from the overflow are automatically caused to move towards same, head foremost, forms arranged outside the overflow to receive the herrings passing over same, moving hooks adapted to catch the herrings moved into the forms, conveyers carrying the hooks and moving them to pull the herrings out from the forms, and a smoking section, through which the conveyers with hooks and herrings hanging on same are moved for becoming smoked, each form having at the side remote from the overflow a laterally and outwardly deflectable flap and being formed in its lower part with an open slot, adapted to allow passage of the conveyor hooks, simultaneously with the same catching the flsh standing in the forms and moving the same through and out of the latter, the flap thereby swinging first outward and thereupon returning to closing position.

8. In combination with a plurality of apparatus as set forth in claim 1, a sorting drum for each apparatus and adapted, when supplied with herrings, to sort out herrings having a certain minimal size and to drop same into the corresponding vessel end remote from the overflow, the several sorting drums being connected in series and adapted to sort out different, gradually increasing sizes of herrings from a stream of herrings passed to the first drum sorting out the least size (No. 1), then passed to the next drum sorting out the next size (No. 2) and so On to the last drum, sorting out the biggest size, whereas herrings bigger than this size are passing out and are removed, in front of the first sorting drum a washing being arranged, in which the herrings are washed, and a lifting device passing the washed herrings to the first sorting drum.

SVERRE A. BARSTAD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,229,472 Julien June 12, 1917 1,485,823 Barry Mar. 4, 1924 2,051,676 Bledorn Aug. 18, 1936 OTHER REFERENCES Marine Products of Commerce, by D. K. Tressler, published by The Chemical Catalog Co. Inc., N. Y., pages 353-357. (Copy in Div. 63.) 

